Elon Musk has renewed his criticism of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful, Bill,” showcasing his fierce opposition to the measure at a critical time. As Senate Republicans scrambled to advance the newly-revised 940-page proposal, Musk took to social media on Saturday to highlight his disapproval.
“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” Musk said to his more than 220 million followers on X. “Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past, while severely damaging industries of the future.”
Musk, the former lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who had a spectacular falling out with Trump not long after leaving the White House, doubled down on his position in a series of follow-up messages.
The Tesla CEO referred to the bill as “political suicide” for the Republican party, citing poll data that showed an approval of his stance against the measure. Musk went on to say that the bill “raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, the biggest increase in history, putting America in the fast lane to debt slavery.”
Prior to Musk’s latest criticism of the bill, Trump had spoken about his one-time ally during a sit-down with Fox News on Friday, for a Sunday Morning Futures interview of which the first part aired on Sunday morning.
“I haven’t spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy. And I know he’s going to do well, always. He’s a smart guy. He actually went and campaigned with me… but he got upset, and that wasn’t appropriate,” Trump said, claiming that Musk had become unhappy over changes to the Electric Vehicle [EV] mandate.
Musk’s long-established opposition to the Big, Beautiful Bill proved to be a sticking point during his DOGE leadership, and notably became a point of contention between himself and Trump, whose presidential campaign he helped fund.
In early June, Musk said the “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.” He took things a step further by telling his millions of followers to “call your Senator, call your Congressman… kill the bill!”
What is the current status of Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill?
In the midst of Musk’s public criticism, Trump’s domestic policy bill, which centers on tax and spending cuts, cleared a significant hurdle on Saturday night. The Senate delivered a 51-49 vote to take up the bill, after holding the floor open for hours to debate with holdouts and secure the numbers necessary to move forward.
Vice President J.D. Vance arrived at the Capitol ready to break a potential tie, and he reportedly held deep talks with people unsure of pledging their support to the bill.
The newly-revised bill—released just after midnight on Saturday—may have advanced, in spite of the vocal opposition it faced from some, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The measure will now be debated in the Senate, and if it passes the Senate, it will go back to the House. The timeline is incredibly tight, as Trump has expressed his desire to sign the bill on July 4th.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are currently dragging out the process by reading aloud the 940-page bill. By midday on Sunday, the Senate had finished its 12th hour and was little more than halfway through reading the proposal.
“If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Despite the long road ahead, in the early hours of Sunday morning, Trump celebrated the progress the bill has made thus far, saying he was “very proud” of the Republican party.
“Tonight we saw a great victory in the Senate,” Trump said, before going on to name the key people involved in advancing the measure. “I look forward to working with them to grow our economy, reduce wasteful spending, secure our border, fight for our military/veterans, ensure that our Medicaid system helps those who truly need it, protect our Second Amendment, and so much more.”
Which Republicans opposed the bill—and what was Trump’s reaction?
Republicans Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky notably voted to block consideration of the measure.
Sen. Tillis said he could not support the bill due to his concerns over Medicaid cuts and what that would mean for people in his state. “The Senate version… contains significant changes to Medicaid that would be devastating to North Carolina, and I cannot support it,” Tillis said. “The Senate should go back to the House’s common-sense approach to Medicaid reform to enact work requirements while protecting care for those who truly need it.”
Trump took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, to air his grievances with Tillis’ oppositional stance.
“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the primary against Senator Thom Tillis,” he said. “I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the great people of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.”
In a statement on Sunday, Tillis said he will not seek re-election. The two-term Senator said that he is proud of the “bipartisan victories” he’s been a part of during his tenure, but highlighted his concerns about the current political environment.
“In Washington, over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” he said via a statement. “Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party, but I wouldn’t have changed a single one.”
Trump referred to Tillis’ retirement plans as “great news.”
Sen. Paul, meanwhile, took a stance against the policy bill’s provision to raise the nation’s debt limit by $5 trillion. On Saturday evening, he shared Musk’s X post showcasing poll numbers being against the bill, and commented: “Not that we should govern by poll, but it is very clear people don’t want this extreme amount of debt and reckless spending.”
Explaining his issue with the numbers, Sen. Paul said: “How about this: Tweak the ‘Big, not so beautiful, bill’ so it doesn’t add so much to the debt? The legislation, as currently written, would pay someone like Elon Musk $1000 per child, and we know how prolific he is . . . No offense, Elon, but is that a wise use of our $$?”
Responding to Sen. Paul’s vote, Trump said: “Did Rand Paul vote ‘NO’ again tonight? What’s wrong with this guy?”
On the other end of the opposition, some hard-right Republicans held off on their votes until the last minute, angling for further spending cuts into the bill in exchange for their support. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who had earlier in the day urged fellow Republicans not to rush through the bill before knowing exactly what it contained, dramatically changed his vote to a yes in the closing moments.
Speaking out after his last-minute change of heart, Sen. Johnson said: “Biden and the Democrats left behind enormous messes that we are trying to clean up—an open border, wars, and massive deficits. After working for weeks with POTUS and his highly capable economic team, I am convinced that he views this as a necessary first step and will support my efforts to help put America on a path to fiscal sustainability.”
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